


[MYSTIC MESSENGER] ~ A Christmas Carol ~ [Crossover]

by RinSolo



Category: A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens, Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas, Crossover, Gen, He needs love, Inspired by A Christmas Carol, Kind of dark, RFA Party, angsty, but also fluffy, poor saeran, saeran's pov, secret end spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 08:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9647891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinSolo/pseuds/RinSolo
Summary: Hey everyone,I know it's a little late but I decided to write a little crossover. This is based on Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" and sets place in the Mystic Messenger realm (post Secret Ending 2). Also, Saeran still hasn't forgiven his brother and is still heavily influenced by Unknown at the beginning of this.Starring - Saeran Choi as Mr. Scrooge.Other starrings are surprises~This is completely from Saeran's point of view by the way. It contains Spoilers for the Secret Endings (obviously). No Spoilers for the Christmas DLC.It'll be a Threeshot with a Prologue and an Epilogue (that means all in all 5 parts).Hope you enjoy!Rin





	1. Prologue

[Christmas Eve, 7:14 pm]

I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe these guys, seriously. Isn’t it enough that I am practically forced to live in this bunker, with my so-called brother, his annoying girlfriend and that other guy – I forgot his name – that once tried to kidnap me?

But no, they can’t even leave me alone, especially this guy who was supposed to be my brother. He is always, always trying to get to me, he talks to me when I actually want him to disappear forever and never bother me anymore. Does he really think I’ll EVER forgive him? Because no matter what happens, that I am sure of, he will never regain my trust. But I have to admit, he tries really hard to make me believe these lies. Well, too bad that I am not falling for them anymore.

And today’s even worse than any other day. Because today is Christmas Eve. Christmas. Out of all holidays, why is it Christmas?

I really want to lock myself in the room they gave me and don’t come out for the next few days but I’d probably starve and the room doesn’t have a bathroom too. Seriously, if I EVER was in need of a time machine to skip a few days, then now. If my brother is so smart, why doesn’t he build one for me? Well, maybe because I’d never ask him since I’d never talk to him voluntarily.

The door opens and there they are, my brother and his girlfriend, arm in arm, laughing. I wish I’d stayed in my room but I guess it’s too late now. They notice me.

“Hey Saeran, how are you doing?” My brother’s beaming at me and so is she.

I ignore him while trying to focus on the magazine I am reading. Not that it really interests me but I have to do something, right?

He sits down next to me and I try very hard not to look at him. They’re both wearing some very ugly sweaters that look hand-knitted, with reindeers and Christmas trees and stuff on them. The bunker is decorated as well. There are lights and decorations everywhere, and in the middle of the living room stands a huge Christmas tree. The guy who’s name I forgot got it for my brother a few days ago.

“Saeran, did we tell you that RFA’s holding a special party today?” the girl asks me while sitting down on my other side.

“Yes”, my brother adds. “A Christmas party! Well, it’s partly a fundraising event since we’ll be accepting donations too but after the event’s done we’ll stay and celebrate. MC and I plan to stay at the location until tomorrow morning, even Vanderwood agreed to come! It’ll be so much fun!”

Vanderwood. That was his name.

“Saeran, we want you to come too!” the girl states while grabbing my arm. My brother puts his other arm around me “Yes brother, this’ll be your first RFA-Event! You’ll have more fun than you ever had in your entire life!”

He opens a bag and pulls out another of the ugly sweaters, that one has a green Christmas tree and a few shooting stars on it. “MC made these sweaters for everyone, she even convinced Vanderwood to put one on. Don’t ask me how she did that but he looks absolutely adorable!”

The girl giggles and my brother hands me the sweater. “Put it on, come on, you’ll look great!”

That’s when I had enough. I stand up and throw the hideous sweater into some corner, yelling: “LEAVE ME ALONE YOU FREAKS, I will neither go to any PARTY nor will I ever put on this ABOMINATION of a sweater, GOT IT?”

They both look shocked and a little hurt, but I don’t even bother to look at their faces. “DON’T PRETEND YOU EVEN WANT ME THERE!” That’s the last words I shout before slamming the door to my room and locking it.

I can hear their upset voices, my brother and his girlfriend both try talking to me through the door but I don’t listen. I just want them to go and leave me already. I don’t respond to anything. I just continue sitting in the corner on the floor and staring at the door.

After a while their voices disappear. Are they gone yet? I hope so. What can I do? I want to show them that I am still angry. I want to show them how much I despise them all. But no one is taking me seriously! They laugh and joke about me “not actually being evil” and “secretly loving my brother but being too shy to admit it”.

THAT IS NOT TRUE! If there only was a way to prove that.... I need a plan. A revenge plan. Killing my brother doesn’t work apparently, I still don’t know why. Maybe because there is actually still a tiny part of me there. A part of the old me, the me that loved my brother and trusted him, that weak me that cried for days after he left, refusing to believe he abandoned me. Even though I tried, I just can’t get rid of that last part. I hate myself for not being able to ditch that tiny part of me, but there’s nothing I can do.

But what can I do in order to hurt him without killing him? Yes, I have to take something away, something he cares about. Should I smash his computers and that annoying cat robot? No, he would just repair them all or buy new ones.

Should I throw away all his money? He gave me full access to it since he wants me to trust him again. But that won’t work either, with his skills he’d easily earn it back and maybe even more.

I’d love to hack into his main server and spread a virus that deletes all of his work but I tried that already and I couldn’t do it. After all, even though I hate to admit it, he’s still better than me at hacking. And his personal server is way too well protected for me to gain access. I want to slap myself for still not being able to surpass him at anything. He’s always been older, stronger, healthier, BETTER at everything. No matter how hard I’ll try, he will always win. This is not fair.

But suddenly it strikes me. Why don’t I just take it ALL away instead of focusing on just one thing? Why don’t I just destroy the whole bunker? With all of his work, his data, his computers, his money and his other personal belongings, alongside with the horrible decoration?

That’s right. No one’s here until tomorrow noon anyway, so I have plenty of time. I will get a nice bunch of sleep and tomorrow morning I’ll set this whole place on fire. When they return, they’ll see my Christmas present for them. Ash and fire, together with their burnt belongings.

I myself will be gone by then. I’ll just take his money and use it to start a new life somewhere. I’ll be fine.

I change into my sleepwear feeling strange. On the one hand I feel proud and excited for I finally have a plan how to destroy my brother, on the other hand there is still this stupid little piece of the old me, making me feel bad about having such plans. But it’s way too weak to make me change my mind.

My plan is set, and nothing in this whole world can change my mind.

 

[Christmas Day, 0:00 am]

I wake up feeling a little strange. When I take a look at my watch I see that I haven’t even slept two hours, it’s barely midnight.

But why did I wake up? I slowly rise up and look around my room, only to almost scream and fall out of my bed. In front of me there is a faint green glow, that grows stronger the longer I look at it. I can’t help but start to feel a little anxious. What the heck is going on?

The glow then slowly turns into a ghost, a ghost with long, silk, blonde hair. She is not facing me but I can see that she hovers above the ground even though she wears a long robe. The ghost who still glows greenish finally turns around and I can’t help but let out a little scream.

Is this a dream? It probably is because in front of me hovers the transparent and glowing figure of my former Saviour. Or, how the others call her, “Rika”.

She is wearing her long Saviour-robe and I can tell that I am more than a little terrified. This woman has tormented me for the last ten years and now, that I finally thought I escaped her grip she’s back. But why is she a ghost? I thought she was alive and somewhere in a camp in Alaska?

I prepare myself for her to attack me but when I take a second look she doesn’t look that terrifying anymore. She always wore that crazy, empty expression when I saw her at Mint Eye, but now she just looks very tired.

She doesn’t approach me either, just continues to hover in front of my bed until I finally bring myself to stand up and move closer.

When I finally stand in front of her and am able to see her entirely I notice the reason why she probably doesn’t move around that much. Heavy chains are tied to her arms and body, they weigh her down and I notice she can barely move.

“W... what are you doing here?” I can finally bring myself to say something.

She sighs and turns away again, her chains follow but I can see how hard it must be for her to move at all.

“Saeran...” she finally talks. Her voice sounds like an echo, sad and distant.

“What?” I suddenly realize I have a lot of questions for her. “Why are you here? And how come you’re a ghost? Aren’t you alive?”

She sighs again and faces me. “I am alive indeed. But this is just a dream anyway. A dream that gives me the opportunity to do a last good deed.”

“Good deed? What the heck are you talking about? I don’t want anything from you! You betrayed me, just like everyone else!” I can hardly keep my voice down.

“I know I did a lot bad things in my life. You can tell from my appearance.” She points at the chains.

“W... what are those chains?” Even though I hate this woman I am still curious.

“Those are all the bad deeds I did in my entire life. After death, my spirit will have to wear them as chains, just like now.” She turns away again.

“I... I don’t get it... Why are you here?”

“Because I want you to understand, Saeran!” Her voice gets louder, it’s filled with grief and desperation. “I don’t want you to end up like me, Saeran!”

I frown. “W... what are you talking about?”

“Don’t you understand?” She moves a little closer. “You stand on a crossroad right now and you are about to take the wrong way. If you continue the way you are on now, things will end up in a disaster.”

“I... I don’t get what you’re talking about!” I almost yell at her. “If you mean the revenge on my brother – HE DESERVES IT, got that? And I won’t change my mind just because of some stupid dream! I’m going to sleep again and you GET OUT!”

She sighs and starts talking again. “I knew you would say that... My influence on you is too strong... I wish I could undo all these terrible things I did to you but sadly, that isn’t possible. The damage is done, but not unfixable yet. This is your last chance to escape and become yourself again, Saeran. I cannot change you anymore, but maybe something else can.”

Her gaze rests upon me. “Therefore, later tonight, I will send you three Spirits of Christmas who will try to help you become yourself again. I sincerely hope you listen to them so that you can lead a better life than I have.”

With these words she disappears, leaving me confused and angry. Spirits? What in the world was she talking about? I decide to just ignore it and go back to sleep. It was just a dream anyway, she stated that herself.

And there was no way a dream could change my mind about my brother or my plan.


	2. CHAPTER 1: Christmas Past

[Christmas Day, 1:00 am]

I wake up because someone is tugging at my sleeve and eagerly calling out my name. At first I don’t realize who that little boy is, that is standing on my bedside and beaming at me.

“Saeran! You’re finally awake! God, that took forever! You have a very tight sleep!”

Only after taking a second look I recognize him.

“S... Saeyoung?”

He looks exactly like my brother, with one little difference. My brother is an adult and this little boy is six, maybe seven years old. Am I still dreaming? Or why is Saeyoung suddenly a child again?

The boy laughs, while clapping his hands and slowly floating over my bed. “Silly, I am not Saeyoung, I am the GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST!”

Only now I realize he is glowing in a warm, yellow colour and looks slightly transparent. A ghost indeed.

“Ghost of what? Hey, get out of my room I don’t want anything from you!”

He giggles again. “Haha, didn’t Rika tell you I’d come? And now don’t be silly and get out of bed, we’ll have a lot of fun!” He attempts to grab my hand.

So he was one of the spirits Rika talked about. “H... hey leave me alone! I said I don’t want anything from you! Get lost!”

“Resistance is futile!” The little ghost sings and snaps his fingers. My blanket folds back and suddenly I feel very light. It is too late when I finally realize I am floating towards the little spirit.

“H... HEY LET ME GO!!” I try to hold onto something but it doesn’t work.

“Aww come on, Saeran, I am here to help you after all!” He states and claps his hands. A huge portal appears in the middle of my room. He takes my hand and I can’t really fight back since I am still floating.

“W... what the heck are you doing?” I become a little anxious. Where is he going to take me? Am I dreaming? Because it definitely feels a little too real for a dream.

“I am going to take you to your past of course. We will watch you celebrate Christmas as a child!” the little ghost clutches my hand as we enter the portal together.

Everything goes white before I can figure out how to get away from the portal or even say a word. This is bad. Very bad.

As soon as I can see where I am I want to close my eyes again. Not this place. This place that I thought I’d never have to see again. I press my hands against my eyes and wait, not wanting to witness a single thing from this stupid dream or whatever this is.

“Hey, what are you doing! The show’s over there!” The spirit slightly tugs at my sleeve.

“I want to go back!” I scream. “Take me back this instant!”

But I still open my eyes, just to realize I am a ghost now too. I float about one foot above the ground. It takes me a moment to figure out how to move and when I finally manage to turn around I witness myself. I am sitting at a well-known kitchen table and staring at the ceiling, apparently waiting for something or someone.

The little spirit approaches my past self as well, with a confused look. “What are you doing?”

Before I can answer, a distant door goes shut. My past self instantly brightens up. A few moments later Saeyoung enters the room, his nose and ears are red and his old, worn hat and his jacket are full of snow but his eyes are glowing brighter than mine ever did. When I notice him carrying a worn box I instantly know what date this is.

“Oh no...” I mutter. To answer the spirit’s confused look I add: “This is the day I first learned about Christmas...”

My past self tries to stand up but can’t really walk towards Saeyoung, since he’s tied to the table with a thick rope.

Saeyoung sits down next to him. “Saeran! We still have a little time before mom comes home, I hurried because I have to tell you something!”

“Why are you tied up?” The little ghost asks me, confusion in his bright golden eyes.

I sigh. “Mom always tied me up when she wasn’t at home, she didn’t like me wandering around...”

The spirit’s eyes went sad. “That’s... oh my god, I had no idea...” he places his little hand on my arm, while we continue watching my past self and my brother.

“W... what is it, Saeyoung?” the little me asks.

“You know that today’s a special day?”, Saeyoung asks excitedly. “I told you about god, didn’t I? And the story of how Jesus, his son, was born?”

Little me nods eagerly.

“Well, today is the birthday of his son Jesus. People have a name for it. The people at church told me, it’s Christmas. That’s why there was a special mass today that took longer than I expected. That’s the reason why I had to hurry in order to have a little time before mom returns.”

My past self’s eyes start glowing. “Christ...mas? Really? Oh, I wish I could go to church too... you sound like you’re having so much fun!”

The little ghost looks at me. “How come you didn’t know Christmas existed up until now? You look like you’re old enough...”

“My brother and I just turned six this year. And this was the first year mom sent him on errands and he started to go to church secretly. Before that, how would we be able to know that such a thing like Christmas existed?”

“Didn’t you celebrate? I mean, your parents must’ve told you!”

I glare at him. “No, they didn’t. Dad is far away with his family, or probably doing a TV-interview or something like that and mom is so busy either drinking, sleeping, going out or torturing us that she doesn’t have time to tell us about such petty things like Christmas.”

The ghost doesn’t answer me. He probably feels sorry for asking, but I don’t care. I just want to go home to my bed.

Meanwhile Saeyoung shows my past self the box he brought. “You know that Christmas is not only a church holiday, but also a family holiday? It’s about sharing and giving each other presents. In fact, Rika and Jihyn told me, giving and receiving presents on Christmas is a tradition.”

Little me is looking at him, wide-eyed.

“Look! The two of them got me this!” He opens the box and shows my past self a little pink rabbit plushy.

I can’t help but feel my heart sting. Even though the rabbit is ugly as hell it’s still a present. A Christmas present. Something I never received in my life.

My past self doesn’t dare to touch it, even though I remember how much I wanted to. “It’s so pretty... and it looks new... I have never seen a new toy before...”

Saeyoung is beaming. “I know right? Do you want to have it?”

Little me looks at him, very shyly. “N... no, it’s your present, it’d be wrong to give it to me...”

Saeyoung ponders. “I see... but why don’t you at least give him a name? You’re better at this than I am and I can’t think of anything...”

Little me looks very intimidated. He whispers something into his brother’s ear, who smiles brightly and hugs him. “That’s the perfect name, Saeran! You’re a genius!”

The ghost gives me a questioning look for he didn’t understand what my child self said. “Mr. Rabby”, I whisper while looking at the floor.

“Oh that’s such a cute name!” The ghost hugs me. “Your brother’s right, you are a genius!”

I turn away for I don’t want to see this scene. It brings up other memories, memories I never wanted to remember again. I buried them in the depths of my heart. Memories of Saeyoung and me as children, of him giving me my first Ice Cream, our first time looking at the sky together. Saeyoung crying when mom hit me, him taking my hand and telling me that we’d get out eventually. That everything was fine as long as we’re together. That he’d always be there for me, protect me.

I clutch my fist. “Lies. All lies”, I whisper. “You weren’t there for me when I needed you the most.”

But then I remember something. I look at the spirit. “I want to get out of here.”

But he’s having way too much fun. “No way we’re going home! This is adorable! You have the best brother in the world!”

But I suddenly remembered what’s about to happen. I know how this evening ended. And I am afraid of having to witness it again.

“I WANT TO GO HOME NOW!” I shout, grabbing the ghost’s arm. But he only laughs. “What’s the matter?”

Suddenly a loud slam is heard. Saeyoung and the little me shriek. “What...? B... but I thought...?” Saeyoung starts to panic while little me is not able to move a single muscle.

“S... Saeyoung...” he whispers while shaking.

“What is happening?” The little spirit asks confused.

Saeyoung quickly looks at Mr. Rabby before putting him in a pocket in his jacket. “If mom finds him, we are... Don’t tell her anything I just told you!”

Little me nods while still clutching his brother’s hand.

“I WANT TO GO HOME!” I yell, while shaking the ghost. “RIGHT NOW!” I am about to panic just like my little self. I tear up and have to keep it together in order to not start crying. I don’t want to see this.

Suddenly the kitchen door is slammed open and I could see the figure of a woman standing in the entrance. I don’t hear or see what she says or does, because I press my hands to my ears and shut my eyes firmly.

The next thing I remember is being sucked into a portal and landing on my hard bedroom floor in my own time. While I still recover from the landing and realize I am not a ghost anymore I notice the guilty look in the spirit’s eyes.

“I am so sorry...”, he mutters. “I had no idea... Was your mom really that bad?”

I only growl in return.

He helps me stand up. “Next time I will listen to you, I promise!” But after a few moments he added: “W... what exactly happened next though?”

I sigh. “Mom didn’t approve what she saw. You don’t want to know what she did, believe me, but after that I didn’t even want to hear the word Christmas ever again.”

It takes me a few moments to realize the little ghost is hugging me. “I am so sorry”, he whispers. “But at least you have your brother, right?”

That’s when I had enough. “Let me go you freak! I don’t have any brother, at least none worth mentioning, and you get out of my room and my life! I am freaking tired I want to sleep. I have a mission tomorrow!”

With that I free myself and walk up to my bed. A quick look at the watch tells me, that apparently no time has passed during our little time travel. Good. That means I still have a lot of time to sleep.

The ghost probably disappeared, I don’t pay attention to that anymore for I shut my eyes and pull my blanket over my head.

Tomorrow morning this bunker is going down. And so is Christmas and my stupid brother.


	3. CHAPTER 2: Christmas Present

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably does contain a tinsy spoiler for Seven's Christmas DLC. Sorry about that...

[Christmas Day, 2:00 am]

I wake up because someone is knocking on something hard while loudly singing “Jingle Bells”. If I wasn’t currently the only person in the bunker they’d all been wide awake by now.

“What the heck is going...” The voice stops, and so does the knocking sound, when I raise up to look for the source of the noise. And when I finally find it, I have to rub my eyes. An exact duplicate of my brother, with his hoodie, his weird glasses and even his cross necklace floats about two meters above the ground, tormenting the ceiling with a baseball bat and a long ruler. He is faced upside down and glows light blueish.

When he notices I am awake he turns around, lets go of the baseball bat and the ruler, which both make a very loud noise when hitting the floor, and floats towards my bed.

“Oh hi there, Saeran!” The ghost – I assume he is one because my brother does not have the ability to float and glow – waves at me in a friendly manner.

I growl. “Another ghost? Gosh, how many of you are coming?”

He laughs and creates a portal while I am slowly getting out of bed. I don’t even bother to resist anymore. I will just play along this time. I mean, what could possibly happen for this is still just a stupid dream.

“I am the GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT!” The ghost laughs again.

“Oh great. And what will you show me? I am already in the present.” To myself I add: “Why do all of these ghosts have to look like Saeyoung? This is so confusing...”

The spirit beams at me while grabbing my hand. “Oh, of course you know the present, but not all of it! I’ll show you what you missed this Christmas!”

With these words he pulls me through the portal.

“By the way, why did you torment my ceiling with a baseball bat and a ruler?” I manage to ask before my vision goes white again. I hear laughter. God, this ghost is almost as annoying as the real Saeyoung.

When I open my eyes again I am standing in the middle of the city we all live in. Even though I am only wearing my pyjamas I am not cold at all. Maybe because I am transparent again. I have to admit it has perks to be a ghost.

There is snow everywhere and the streets are decorated. There are candles and lights in every window and because it’s apparently evening already it would appear beautiful to someone, who doesn’t have a grudge against Christmas like me.

“Okay, and WHY EXACTLY are we here?”

The ghost points at a group of people who are headed to the entrance of a building. After I take a closer look I recognize them. “Oh great, my brother, his girlfriend and that Vanderwood-dude are here. Can we go back now?”

The spirit laughs. “Gosh are you a party pooper! We are NOT going home of course. We’ll follow them! I mean, they are headed to the best Christmas party ever, aren’t they?”

Only now I realize what he is probably going to show me. The party I have been invited too and the place where all of my brother’s friends are right now.

“B... but I don’t want too...” I try to object, but the ghost apparently doesn’t give a single thing about my opinion. Great. He just grabs my arm and teleports into the building. Oh, so ghost can teleport, big news.

Some other people from the RFA are already waiting. All of them wear gowns and suits and they apparently just finished taking donations. But some are still missing. The corporate heir is nowhere to be seen, even though his assistant seems to be managing this whole thing together with two men, one of them is blonde and the other one has white hair tied to a pony tail.

A few moments later the door is slammed open and my brother and his roommates enter. “Let’s get the party STARTED”, he yells. I roll my eyes.

“This is freaking boring...” I complain after about an hour. The corporate dude has arrived too and the party is in full swing. The ghost disappeared after a while and I make my way through the room to find him. “I want to GO HOME!” I shout, because the music is pretty loud.

There are a lot of people, not only the RFA-guys. I can see my brother and his girlfriend, as well as the white haired man and the assistant dancing – both couples seem to be a little drunk – while the other two RFA-members as well as Vanderwood are sitting on some couches and talking, even though the corporate heir seems to really enjoy the wine too.

“Heh, I agree” I suddenly hear a voice behind me. “Let’s skip a few hours, the interesting part happens a little later.”

Before I can say a single word the ghost just pulls me into another portal. I let out a little cry but I realize that I don’t hit the floor or anything when I land. I just continue floating.

The atmosphere has changed. I take a tired look at the watch and realize it’s almost six o’clock in the morning!

The other people are gone, only the RFA is left. Most of them are asleep. My brother and his girlfriend are actually the only people who seem to be awake. They both look exhausted what is probably to be expected after a party like that.

The ghost sits down beside them and pulls me with him. I don’t really want to listen to their talking, I just want to sleep. I realize, even though this is just a dream it still exhausts me as heck.

“What’s wrong, Saeyoung? You look a little troubled...” The girl asks while leaning her head on my brother’s shoulder. He sighs.

“You seemed a little worried from the beginning. Usually you love occasions like that...”

He closes his eyes and I do that as well. If I have to stay here, why not sleep a little too?

“I miss Saeran...”

Suddenly I am wide awake. Did he just really say that?

She laughs a little. “Yes, it’d be a way better party if he’d joined us.”

My brother suddenly seems very tired. “I... I just don’t understand, what I am doing wrong...? Nothing seems to work, no matter what I try he still hates me. And he will probably continue to hate me for the rest of our lives.”

She hugs him. “Don’t think like that, he’ll forgive you eventually, he just needs a little more time...”

“You said that last week already. And the week before. It’s been almost a month, MC. How much longer should I keep this up? Act like nothing’s wrong? I don’t even know what I would do without you to support me...”

“Are you talking about leaving him again?” She seems shocked. I am less shocked. Of course he will abandon me again eventually, everyone gets tired of being nice to a person who is rejecting you so violently.

“Never in a million years.”

Huh? Did he just... well, one can say that easily of course. But I don’t believe that. I am actually counting on him getting tired of me and letting me go. Maybe that’s even one of the reasons why I refuse his kindness. Because I know that he’ll leave me some day anyway. If I don’t make any good memories with him now, maybe it’ll be easier to watch him go this time.

“I am not going to leave him, no matter what happens, MC. Saeran is the most important person in my life, together with you. And even though the way I love him is different from the way I love you, of course, I could never describe how much I treasure both of you. Believe me, no matter how mean or repellent he acts towards me, that will never affect my love.”

Can one really do this? Can one really learn to lie so convincing? Because if my brain wouldn’t constantly tell me not to believe a single word he says I didn’t know what to do. Everything about him right now looks so tired, so weak and so... honest. Why would he lie to her now? I am not even here so what’s the point of all this?

If he is even lying.

NO! No I must not give in. Though a huge part of me wants to believe he actually said that, MEANT it. No, I need to get out of here before it’s too late.

I must not fall for him and his bittersweet promises again.

I turn my head towards the ghost who is watching them and smiling, making little “Aww”-sounds. Okay, that dude won’t be much of a help.

I am about to get up and leave by myself when I notice something. Saeyoung is holding a small box covered in wrapping paper that has a red ribbon on it. Oh great, he is giving her a Christmas present. Nothing for me to see here.

But strangely she is not taking it and unwrapping the paper, she just smiles and mutters something that I don’t understand completely for I am too far away. I think I heard “love it” and “the way to make him”.

What the heck is going on? I move closer again.

“I know, right?” My brother beams at her. But his smile disappears after a while. “I really hope he’ll like it. After all, this took me a lot time to find. I had to search V’s entire belongings to get it back. I am just happy he didn’t throw it away.”

What in the world was he talking about? Whom was this present for? And why did he search V’s belongings? Maybe I should’ve listened to the entire conversation after all... I decide to sit down again. Maybe it was best to just play along with this weird dream and listen to everything I was supposed to hear.

Dream... Of course, this was all just a dream! Saeyoung never said any of those words that made me almost believe him. He would never say something like that. It was all just my twisted desperate mind making all of this up.

My determination to take revenge was back. I would show him who’s boss.

“...leave a little earlier.”

Wait what? Damn it! I wanted to listen, didn’t I?

“Yes, maybe you’re right.” The girl stands up and starts waking up everyone else. Why did he say he’d leave earlier? Wait, this was interfering with my plan! If they came back earlier I had less time!

But of course, a moment later I realized I was still dreaming and this had nothing to do with real life. Damn it, this dream felt so real that I kept forgetting it was just a dream all the time!

A little later they are all up and gathered around the fireplace. “You want to leave?” The blonde man asks while stuffing himself with cookies. “Why?”

“Because we want to spend Christmas morning with Saeran.” My brother adds. The girl nods. “We feel kind of bad that he’s all alone in the bunker, even though it was his choice not to come...”

They are leaving the party because of me?

The assistant and the white haired man nod, the blonde seems to understand too. The corporate heir says that it is probably for the best if they cancel the party then. “We had a great evening anyway, why doesn’t everyone spend Christmas morning with their families instead?”

Everyone agrees and during the next half an hour everyone leaves, including my brother.

This is an unexpected turn of event. Why can’t they all just stay here? I don’t get these people. Usually, when you are mean to someone, they quit being nice to you after a short while. But these guys are really persistant! I don’t like this...

“Let’s leave...” I tell the ghost. Suddenly I become anxious about them really leaving sooner and me having less time.

After a short while he nods. “I think you’ve seen everything I have to offer...” he mutters while creating the portal. “Didn’t seem to work though... or did you give up on your plan?”

I firmly shake my head. “I am just worried they might really leave earlier, that this dream is some kind of warning or something and that I’ll have less time.”

“Dream?” The spirit turns to me. “Who said this was a dream?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Are you saying that this is really happening? I mean, when we go through this portal it’s going to be, what, two o’clock again and here it’s six already! Are you trying to tell me we’re in the future? And that such things as Christmas spirits exist?”

He laughs. “Of course this is real! The only dream you had was about Rika visiting you! She was a little announcement we sent you. Funny thing, while you thought she was talking to you she was having a dream about her talking to you too.”

I need a moment to come to terms with this. “Are you really saying this’ll happen here in, what is it, four hours?”

He nods eagerly.

For a moment, a tiny moment I believe him but then I shake my head. No way. This is just a crazy dream. I mean, time travelling? Ghosts? No way any of this could be really happening. Even though I certainly don’t feel like I am dreaming.

After I am back in my own room I crawl underneath the sheets and shut my eyes. Even though I am not fully convinced those ghosts were real, better safe than sorry, right? I will have to speed up my plan. What time will they come back? About seven o’clock right? My last thought before I fall asleep is, that I probably didn’t remember the time correctly. But who cares.


	4. CHAPTER 3: Christmas Future

[Christmas Day, 3:00 am]

Oh great, another ghost. That’s what I think when I wake up again. I don’t exactly hear a noise or feel someone touching me this time, but I definitely have this kind of feeling that I’m not alone.

I open my eyes and look around. If he wouldn’t glow reddish I wouldn’t have spotted him immediately for he looks entirely different from the ones before.

He floats in the middle of my room, about a meter above the ground. I can’t tell at the beginning whether he is another weird version of Saeyoung for he wears a long black cloak with a hood that covers his face.

“Are you another Christmas spirit?” I ask while getting up. I just want to get this over with fast.

He floats towards me. As soon as he reaches the floor and stands in front of me he takes off his hood. The view is disturbingly interesting.

He definitely has Saeyoung’s face but his hair is deep black and his eyes are framed with eyeliner, just like mine used to be when I wore my Mint Eye clothes. His skin looks very pale for everything else about him is dark.

“I am the GHOST OF CHRISTMAS FUTURE.” His voice sounds different too. Everything about him seems dark and calm while the other two were loud and annoying. Future? So he’s probably the last one. Great!

“You are still eager to turn your plan into reality, aren’t you? How about I show you what happens if you succeed?”

I like this ghost. I really do. While I wasn’t really interested in the other ones I am suddenly very curious about what this one will show me.

I nod. “Let’s get going!” I mean, if this is really happening, I just got offered to look into my own future and who in the world wouldn’t want that?

The ghost creates a portal and takes my hand. “Are you ready?”

I nod. Surprisingly, my vision doesn’t turn white when I enter the portal. Instead, I am faced with many other doors, exits, I assume. “What are those?” I ask.

The ghost nods. “The future isn’t like the past, Saeran. While the past is set and cannot ever be changed the future is unsettled. It changes depending on your actions and decisions. Therefore, you can now see the portals to many versions of your future. Some are good, some are less good.”

Fascinated as I am I try to peek into a door. But the ghost pulls me forward. “I will now show you yourself in exactly five years, after you burned your brother’s home.”

My heart races and I can’t wait for us to reach the correct door. Finally, I see an exit that looks bigger than the others.

“It’s bigger because it is the future you most likely will achieve if you continue the way you are planning too.” With those words he pulls me into it.

For a second my vision goes white but I quickly find myself in the already well-known state of being transparent and weightless. We stand somewhere outside, everything is covered in snow. But this isn’t the city. It has to be somewhere in the countryside for the only building I see is a big mansion at the top of a hill.

But strangely it isn’t decorated at all. There is only a single window that’s enlightened on the top floor, right above the entrance. The mansion looks dark and a little intimidating but at the same time it’s incredibly beautiful.

“Whose mansion is that?” I ask the ghost.

“It’s yours.”

I stare at him, wide-eyed. “M... mine? But how did I...?”

“Do you want to go inside?”

I nod.

I love this future, I think to myself while walk-floating through the endless seeming hallways of my future house. Or should I say palace? Because it definitely has more of a palace than a house. I knew it was a good decision to run away and take the money my brother’s saved. Was it really that much? I definitely underestimated him.

We reach a hallway at which’s end the enlightened room is located. As we enter I can see that the light comes from a fireplace. Near the fire sits a figure. I don’t recognize him at first but after he turns his head a little I realize that this must be me.

I don’t look very different from now, my hair is still white. I wear dark clothing and I am reading a book which’s title I can’t make out.

Suddenly a knock is heard and another man enters. He seems about fifty years old and wears a suit with grey hair that probably used to be black.

“Mr. Choi, is there something I can do for you?” He asks.

Future me seems less pleased. “I told you not to bother me today. You know what date it is, don’t you?”

“Does that mean, I can go home, Mr. Choi?”

“Of course you CAN’T!” He seems really furious. “Butlers don’t ever go home, Mr. Yun. You have a lot work to do.”

“Yes Mr. Choi.” The butler leaves the room and future me continues his reading.

“I even have a BUTLER?” I can’t help but brighten up. “I love this future!”

“You have a butler, two maids, a chef and a gardener.” The ghost states.

I stare at him. “And what exactly about this future is bad?”

The ghost doesn’t answer me. I continue to watch myself when I suddenly remember something. “W... what happened to my brother and his girlfriend after the fire?”

“So you are interested.” The ghost seems pleased.

“Y... yes.... I mean, I burned his house down, of course I want to know...”

“I see...” With that everything around us goes black. In the dark void I can see pictures, fragments of what happened, I see the fire I caused.

“You speeded up your plan because of what the ghost of Christmas Present showed you. But you were too late anyway. They got home an hour earlier than you expected. Therefore, all of them were in the building when the fire started.”

My heart suddenly starts racing. “A... are they...?”

“There was a victim indeed. Both, your brother and his partner Vanderwood escaped but it was too late for the girl.”

“MC is dead? B... because of me?”

But the ghost doesn’t respond. A different fragment is visible now, I can see myself and my brother. “After her death your brother had a breakdown. He voluntarily gave you all of his money for he said you were the only one who is important now.”

Suddenly I am not sure whether I want to hear this anymore, but I am past the point of no return now. There is no way for me to stop him.

“From that point he dedicated his life to the only person left that he loved – you. He didn’t live for his own sake anymore but for yours. He got you everything you wanted, he even bought you the mansion, payed the personal. He was desperately trying to make your life as pleasant as possible for he was afraid of losing you too, after he lost her.”

I am not able to say anything, I can’t even open my mouth. The picture changes again. I see Saeyoung, he sits in some kind of dirty, dark room, typing something on his computer.

“Meanwhile you had your mansion, your servants, but after killing this girl, your fate was sealed too. Since you returned from Mint Eye you struggled to become your true self again after you were brainwashed and turned into the ruthless selfish person you are now. After killing this girl, even if it was on accident, you wasted your last chance to escape the grip of this voice in your head. You continued to use your brother’s will to make you happy by craving more and more.”

I want him to stop talking but I still can’t open my mouth.

“But he didn’t turn away from you. Even if he didn’t have a legit reason to stay by your side he still fulfilled his promise to stay. He continued to grant your every wish, even with you never showing any sign of gratitude or friendliness. He completely neglected his own wishes, his health and his entire life for you. Soon he ran out of money and the new jobs he had to do, well, let’s say they weren’t very legal. But it was the only way for him to gather enough money in such a short time. After a few years even your brother couldn’t hide anymore. He had to run from the police and the only safe place he could think of, was your mansion.”

I am afraid to hear what happened next. I realize my whole body is shaking. The picture changes again. I can see Saeyoung standing at the entrance of my mansion. It’s raining heavily and he is soaked. The gates are open.

“But even after he had basically sacrificed himself and his existence for you, you weren’t willing to do this one thing for him.”

The gates went shut leaving him outside in the rain.

“Soon after you refused to help your brother the police captured him. Not even his former partner Vanderwood was willing to help him anymore. He disappeared without a trace never to be seen again.”

The pictures vanish. I can feel something wet in my eye. Am I crying? No, the tear didn’t run down my cheek yet. Is this really what I did? Or will do? Did I really turn into that kind of monster already?

“W... where is he now?” I don’t know how I manage to talk but suddenly the words are out. “I... w... want to see my brother.” My whole body is still shaking.

The ghost looks at me. “Fine.” The black void suddenly disappears and we teleport away from the mansion. Suddenly it doesn’t look that inviting anymore.

We are back in the city. Is it our city? I can’t even tell. We are standing in front of a grey building with a sign above the entrance.

“After you refused to help him your brother wasn’t the same anymore. The judge decided to put him into a mental hospital instead of prison, which was probably for the best since he hasn’t said a single word since the trial. And that was about one and a half years ago.”

The ghost takes my hand again and teleports us into the hospital. We stand in front of a door, with a little barred window in it. We easily walk through the door and I am able to see my brother. Or at least the man who once used to be my brother. My cheerful, ridiculous, vivid brother whose constant jokes and teasing used to drive me insane.

He looks terrible. His hair is too long and hasn’t been combed in a while, his eyes are heavy and have big purple circles around them and his gaze is empty. All life seems to have vanished, the man before me is just an empty shell, a shadow of everything he used to be.

He sits on a chair beside his little table and writes something. I can’t make out what it is. Suddenly I can see something wet running down his cheek. Tears?

It hurts. It really hurts to see him like this. When he was so ridiculously cheerful I thought I hated that about him but now I realize that I needed it. Maybe he is right and we are two parts of a single person, and without each other we can’t ever be complete?

Almost automatically I move closer. I want to read what he is writing.

_Dear Saeran,_

_I don’t know how you are doing, or how you celebrate this Christmas. I don’t even know if you ever read my postcards but I am going to pretend you do, and that you maybe smile a little when you see, that someone’s thinking of you._

_I just want you to know that I am still here, and that I still love you. You are the only one who’s important. And if you ever need anything else, no matter what, I’ll be there. Always waiting here, living just to make you happy little brother._

_No matter what happens, please know that I will always love you._

_Yours, Saeyoung_

Something wet runs down my cheek and I can’t do anything about it. “I want to see myself receiving this card.” My voice sounds weak and broken.

Without a word, the ghost takes my hand and we leave this place through a portal only to find ourselves back in the mansion.

“It is the next day. Christmas Day.” The ghost informs me.

The butler knocks and comes in while my future self stands next to the window. “Mr. Choi, a postcard arrived. It’s from the usual sender.”

He turns around and frowns. “Again? Isn’t that guy getting tired of writing? He wrote me so many postcards already that I can’t even count anymore.”

The butler hands him the card. “W... wouldn’t you at least consider reading it once, Sir?” He offers shyly.

Future me glares at him before snatching the card out of his hand, tearing it to tiny pieces and throwing it into the fire without even looking at it.

“I don’t give a DAMN about what it says, got that? Next time we receive one of these, don’t even disturb me anymore, just throw it away yourself!” With that he gives the butler a sign and he leaves.

That was too much. No, why do I act like that? I don’t want to become this man. “No! This is not true! I don’t WANT ANY OF THIS!” I start yelling at the ghost. “This is not real!” I try to press my hands to my ears and shut my eyes, shut this terrible future out. But even though my eyes are firmly closed I can still see more. Pictures of Saeyoung in that hospital room, desperately crying for help but nobody hearing him, pictures of me, smiling while receiving the news that my brother died of an illness, about half a year later.

“NOO!! H... help me!” Meanwhile the mansion and the room disappeared, I am floating in an endless seeming black void. The glow of the ghost in front of me is the only light, the only orientation I have.

“I DON’T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN! HELP ME!” I cry out but the ghost doesn’t react. Tears are flowing down my cheeks and I reach out to him, desperately wanting him to understand.

“Help me to change this... Please... Help me...” I can’t even cry anymore. Pain and desperation overwhelm me.

“I cannot help you change your future. I can merely show it to you.” Finally, a response. But not the one I wanted! His voice sounds louder and echoes in my head. “The only person who can change your future, is yourself Saeran.”

I am drained of any power to shout, to cry, to make him tell me the answer to my questions, to even respond.

“If you are really willing to change your future, the key lies within you. Look inside your heart and question every of your decisions and you will find the right path.”

With that he disappears and I am sucked into a portal that appears underneath me. Sweating and heavily breathing I realize I am lying in my bed. The ghost, the portal and the void are gone.

That’s when I start crying.


	5. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this too, contains a little spoiler for Seven's Christmas DLC. Sorry again...

[Christmas Day, 3:30 am]

I am not able to fall asleep anymore. Not after what I just saw. I keep telling myself it was just a dream – a dream that has turned into a nightmare, but every time I close my eyes I see my brother in the state he was in during that dream – or whatever it was and I realize, I don’t want him to end up like that.

I thought I hated him, wanted to make him suffer but when I actually saw him suffer it made me suffer as well. I just can’t supress these feelings and maybe, it wouldn’t be the right choice after all.

“You are the only one who can change your future. Look inside your heart and question your every decision.” The ghost’s words echo in my memory.

I try very hard to focus, to question myself. Am I doing the right thing? Is refusing my brother’s kindness really what I am supposed to do? Or is it the prepress to becoming the man I was in that horrible vision of the future?

The man who refuses to do his only brother who has dedicated his life to make him happy a single favour.

How can it even be right to be so horrible to him? Only now I realize what he’s really gone through for me already, risking his life by saving me from Mint Eye, still smiling at me and offering me his love and care even though I refused all of it. Up until now I tried to justify my vicious behaviour with the fact that his kindness was not real, that he would eventually leave me again but I am not so sure about that anymore.

Suddenly I realize that in the process of discovering that version of the future I started believing him. Believing that his promise to stay with me this time, no matter what happens, could be real. I could never describe how it felt to see him suffer like that for me, for my sake. Yes, in that version of the future I had achieved the goal to make him pay. But was that really what I wanted?

No.

That realization suddenly hit me. All the time, I see now, I had merely been afraid. Afraid of the exact fact I made myself believe, that if I trusted him again, I would end up alone and helpless like before.

I hid my fear by being violent and cold, telling myself I had no choice and that he deserved it while I unintendedly started to turn into the monster I was in that future vision.

But I do not want to be afraid anymore. I don’t know if I can actually do it but I will at least try to change. To become “myself” again, how both Rika and the ghost called it. For the sake of the future, of my brother and of myself, this has to stop. There will be no fire, therefore no one will get hurt. My plan was in vain.

I will no longer listen to this voice in my head that tells me to be violent and anxious. To not trust my brother, to not trust anyone. That part of me that made me feel bad about wanting to take revenge, I realize, has been telling me to do the right thing the whole time while the rest of me was being controlled by this person Mint Eye created. This monster who was supposed to be cruelly following orders not showing any signs of remorse or fear.

I feel my heart pounding in my chest and for the first time in forever it seems, I am absolutely sure it’s mine. My thoughts. My voice coming out of my mouth. Mine, and not that other person’s, created by Mint Eye in order to replace me.

It feels strange but also amazing. I am so used to being told what to do by that voice that I am confused for a second for there is nothing. No order to forget what I just thought, no anger for giving up on my plan. Nothing.

It takes me a moment to realize I am smiling. Another thing I am not used too. In fact, I haven’t smiled since my brother, since Saeyoung, left me when we were children. Is that feeling, slowly taking over me, what people call happiness?

That thought makes me smile more. It feels so nice. The freedom to be myself again was something I’d never expect to ever earn back but now I have it. And I am going to make the most of it, yes. Oh, I am going to pay back my brother. But it’ll be slightly different than what I had planned before.

And all that because of a dream. But was it really a dream though?

 

[Christmas Day, 11:23 pm]

I am still sitting in the living room on the couch, smiling again. This feels so unfamiliar but I have grown to love it within just one day.

I close my eyes and think about all of it again. The surprise I had planned didn’t take very long to prepare. I had enough time even though they all came home at six already, like in my dream. I am still asking myself how that was possible. Meanwhile I had prepared a nice little breakfast, decorated the table and turned on all the lights. For the first time I was able to enjoy them as well.

I picked up and put on the sweater MC made for me too. Someone had left it on the couch as if they’d known I would change my mind about it. I mean, it was pretty ugly but maybe even ugly things can be beautiful when they are sincere gifts and given to you by a person who cares about you. Like Mr. Rabby, Saeyoung’s old plushy rabbit.

When they came home they didn’t believe what they saw. After they had come to terms with my sudden change of hearts we enjoyed the breakfast and everyone handed out presents. I was surprised by the amount of presents they got for me. I even felt a little bad for not getting them anything but they said seeing me so cheerful was the best present they could think of.

Maybe being nice does not always end up in being left behind and broken hearted after all. Who would have known. But to be honest, this breakfast, this whole day has been the best day of my life. It even made me think. My past hasn’t been very great and I always assumed that therefore, my future would be the same.

But maybe it is time for a new view. Maybe it is time to try something Saeyoung always talks about, something called “thinking positive”. So maybe, even though my past has been terrible, my future could be better?

They had all been so happy. Laughing and chatting all the time. When I asked them about it, Saeyoung said, it was because of me. Because I was happy, they were happy too. Does that even make sense? Is happiness... contagious? Maybe it indeed is. Wasn’t I actually happy because I saw my brother being ridiculous and cheerful again? Maybe I should try to make him happy more often as well. Not having to see his hurt face for a whole day felt better than I ever thought it would after all.

Suddenly I feel the thought of him smiling makes me smile as well. That feeling, “joy”, is so ridiculous, but I like it.

I am so deep in thought that I don’t notice someone entering the room. “Saeran!” He calls out.

I am still smiling while I raise my head. “You’re still up?”

Saeyoung greets me with a wide grin. He sits down beside me and I want to automatically turn away. But then I remember that I wanted to make him smile more often.

So instead of turning away I try to face him. “Today... today has been so nice...”

He laughs a little. “Saeran, gosh, today was, I don’t even know. It was like a dream, you...”, he ponders a little.

Suddenly I am worried. “D... did I do something wrong?” I ask. My smile is gone and so is this warm feeling of joy.

“NO NO NO!!” Saeyoung hurries to call out. “Saeran, what I meant to say is... Today has been the best day of my life because something happened that I almost gave up hope to ever see again.”

“What?” I ask, not yet fully convinced.

“You smiled.”

There is this happiness again, overwhelming me. If there only was a way to express how I feel right now. No wait, maybe there is.

I never knew how much I missed the feeling of having my arms around him, feeling that he’s actually there, that he’s real and that he’s my brother who will, of that I am sure now, always be with me, until now. I suddenly want to cry because all the emotions I have been burying in my heart until now had been set free at once. A tear runs down my cheek.

I feel that he’s hugging me back and I can hear him sniffing a little. Is he crying as well? No, I didn’t mean that! When I ask him to stop crying he says it’s okay. Apparently there are some kinds of tears that are fine because they are tears of joy.

After a while he lets go of me. “I actually have something for you... You know, I didn’t give you all the presents I had for you this morning.”

He takes out a little wrapped box with a red ribbon. Wait, I know this box! It was the one he showed MC in my dream! I remember what he said, that it was a present for someone and that he had to search V’s belongings in order to get it back.

“It was for me all the time?” I couldn’t believe it.

He frowns a little. “What, all the time? I never showed it to you until now!”

Oh no, I have to keep it together. Instead of answering I unwrap the box and open it.

“I actually wanted to give you this four years ago. I came to Korea only to give this to V so that he could give it to you. But you never received it. So I went through his entire belongings to look whether he kept it and luckily he did.”

How was this possible? Everything my dream said about this box was true. Had it been actually real the whole time? But I didn’t have time to think about that for I am overwhelmed by the box’s content.

“H... how? B... but I can’t accept this... I told you already, it was your present! You can’t just give it to me...!”

But Saeyoung firmly shakes his head. “Yes, it was my present and I can do with it what I want. Therefore, I have decided to give it to you. Take good care of him for me, okay?”

I can’t help but tear up again while I tighten my grip on this awful wonderful and now worn little pink plushy rabbit I hadn’t seen in ten years.”

“Do you know his name? You gave it to him, remember?” Saeyoung whispers while resting his head on my shoulder.

“Mr. Rabby...” I mutter while I still can’t believe this is happening. Saeyoung smiles again. “Will you protect him for me?”

I nod. “Of course...” Then I remember something. “We were so lucky you managed to hide him from mom that day. She almost got you...”

“Well, all that matters is that he’s safe and sound now. Just like us. Saeran, I know you don’t want to hear this but I just have to say it. I promise, no, I swear that I won’t leave you ever again. No matter what happens, we will be together, alright? Facing every possible problem won’t be half as hard with you by my side.”

I think he expects me to get mad but I just nod. For this is the first time in forever that I actually believe him. When I tell him that he is speechless for a moment.

“S... Saeran, what the heck happened to you? I mean, I am more than happy about your change but... how? How is this possible? Yesterday you would’ve yelled at me and probably broken something before locking yourself in your room for hours...”

I suddenly feel very ashamed. “I am sorry for being so vicious, Saeyoung. I was just afraid, that you might leave me again and...”

He interrupts me by putting his arms around me again. “Let’s not talk about it, alright? The past is the past. We can’t change it. But we still can change the future.”

That sentence almost makes me cry because I out of all people know very well about that.

“So, what happened?” He asks again.

I sigh. “That is a long story. And you maybe won’t even believe me for I don’t even fully believe it myself. But if you insist... Just you know, it contains a lot of ghosts.”


End file.
